


Someone Who Waits and Listens

by azablue



Series: Sokka's Got You Covered [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra, Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bumi II (mentioned) - Freeform, Gen, Katara is an aunty, Kya II is gay, Lin Beifong has feelings, Pre Out of the past flashback, Protective Toph Beifong, Sokka (Avatar)-centric, Sokka is a good uncle, Sokka loves codenames, Tokka if you really wanted to squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26768587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azablue/pseuds/azablue
Summary: “So what? We’re still here and she’s still gone.” Lin spat, slumped back against the railing, pulling her knee closer to her chest. “Look, I know she has a duty to the people and that they need her… but I need her too,” pulling her knee back against her chest she added quietly, “I just wished all she had to be was my mom.”Sokka blinked. For fraction of a moment he was thirteen again, holding his teary eyed sister and trying to rationalize being left alone. This time, he knew better. He could help with this.“How much do you know about before Katara and I found Aang?”----OR Lin is upset and worries about how much her mom works and her Uncle Sokka is there to help (set during the Yakone case but that's not a central part)
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Katara & Sokka (Avatar), Lin Beifong & Sokka (Avatar), Lin Beifong & Suyin Beifong, Lin Beifong & Toph Beifong, Sokka/Suki (Avatar)
Series: Sokka's Got You Covered [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903354
Comments: 12
Kudos: 71





	Someone Who Waits and Listens

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So I'm putting the ages at the top because I know at least for me it's distracting not to know so here we are:   
> Kya: 17   
> Tenzin: 14  
>  Lin: 14  
>  Su: 8  
>  (Bumi isn’t in this story because he’s already in the United Forces, but in my head he’s 19 and Izumi is 18, I know theres a lot of speculation about the age gap between all of them, this is just my take :) )
> 
> enjoy!

It was the end of the week, which meant for Team Avatar it was family night at Katara and Aang’s. After everyone started to settle down in Republic City it became an unspoken tradition to gather on Air Temple Island and spend time together. Toph and the girls are a weekly staple and Sokka and Suki attend whenever they’re in town as they still split their time between Republic City and other duties. At the end of each month everyone visits Zuko, Mai, and Izumi in the Fire Nation for official business regarding the “Harmony Restoration Report” and the unofficial (but equally important) business of having everyone at family dinner. This week was hosted on Air Temple Island but the gang was missing two of its members: Toph and Suki. Suki was back on Kyoshi Island, where she would be until the end of the month, but Toph’s absence was far more out of the ordinary. She already been working double-time trying to get the notorious crime boss, Yakone, behind bars but last week she took a more extreme measure. With the case becoming more serious and police officers getting targeted, Toph decided to send her girls to stay with Katara and Aang until after his trial.When Sokka showed up at the island he was greeted by a very excited Suyin. He had become a pseudo father to both of Toph’s children, but where Lin was more reserved with her affection, Su was anything but.“Sokka!” The young girl called, jumping up and down, “you’re finally here!”

“I sure am firefly,” Sokka laughed, picking Su up, “what are you doing down here by yourself?” While he was delighted to see her, Sokka knew that his sister had strict rules about how close the younger kids could be to the water without someone watching them, a rule stemming from a particular incident with her own non-water bending children at five and ten respectively.

“Well I _wanted_ Lin to come down here with me,” Su huffed, “but she’s been all mopey since we got here so I decided to come down myself!” Before Sokka could open his mouth to respond he saw Katara walking briskly down to the docks, scanning the bay before her eyes landed on the pair.

“There you are!” Katara said, looking relieved, “Su baby I told you you can’t come down to the docks alone.” Sokka transferred Su into his sisters outstretched arms and she began to scan the young girl for injuries.

“Don’t worry Katara, she’s perfectly fine. She just missed her favorite uncle.” Sokka said cheekily, ruffling Su’s hair.

“Aunty Katara can you put me down now I wanna get my rocks so I can show Uncle my new trick!” Su said, wriggling out of Katara’s arms. Katara sighed, letting the Su down who immediately started sprinting to the house, yelling over her shoulder, “I need to get my supplies it’ll be ready when you get up here!”

“Can’t wait firefly!” Sokka yelled after her, laughing he turned to his sister, “is it just me or is she the most hyper kid you’ve met.” Katara snorted, wiping off the dirt that now covered her dress after carrying the youngest Beifong.

“No one,” Katara started, “has more energy than Bumi when he was little. From when he was age two to age ten I don’t think we went one month without some journalist writing about the Avatar’s ‘wild child’ and his latest ‘public blunder.’ I swear the headlines followed us from the North Pole to Ba Sing Se. But she makes a close second.”

“I can’t believe I’d forgotten about that, second place then for sure,” Sokka replied. “Speaking of, how’s that wild child doing?” Bumi had been in the United Forces for over a year, after joining at 18.

“He’s doing really well,” Katara said smiling, “we got a letter from him this morning actually, he docked in Kysohi Island about a week and a half ago, and he’ll be at on the open water for the next few weeks. He sent Kya and Tenzin both gifts too.”

“Wow,” Sokka remarked. He had been one of his nephew’s main masters in combat and strategy and felt an overwhelming sense of pride hearing about his journey. “I’m so proud of him.”  
  
“Me toom” Katara reponded. The walked in silence for a brief moment before Sokka remembered what Su had told him about one of his _other_ pseudo children.

“Hey is Lin doing okay? Su mentioned she was upset,” Sokka asked. Katara deflated at the question, momentarily letting her brother see the toll that came with taking care of four children _and_ running a hospital.

“She’s been in a mood since she got here. She’s fighting more with her sister and not sparring with the others which she normally loves.” Katara sighed, “Lin’s been staying with us off and on her whole life, normally when she comes she seems so comfortable. She has her own space, knows the routine, and even does her homework without being asked, which is more than I can say about my kids.”

“Has she said anything? Did something happen at school?” Sokka asked.

“Aang and I have both tried to reach out but we can’t seem to get through to her,” Katara replied, defeated.

“I can talk with her after dinner,” Sokka offered as they reached the front door, he could hear he Tenzin and Kya yelling loudly inside. Katara smiled gratefully at him and gave his shoulder a quick squeeze as her response before opening the door to stop whatever fight was about to boil over.

Despite Su’s “trick” nearly knocking down one of the acolyte dormitories and Kya and Tenzin (or, the “cloud babies” as Sokka called his biological niece and nephews) having a screaming match in the living room over which of the two a girl from school was referring to when she said she wanted to kiss an Avatar kid, dinner itself was fairly uneventful. Each of the kids was asked about their school day, with Kya, Su, and even Tenzin, the quietest of the group, speaking at length about their studies. Lin, however, was giving one word replies to both Sokka and Katara’s questions. After the meal Lin stood up and announced she was taking a walk around the island, which Sokka took as his cue to go speak with her. As he left he could hear the grumbling of his nieces and nephew coming from the house as they complained over having to do the dishes while Lin got a pass.

Sokka caught up to his niece fairly quickly, she was sitting on the railing of one of the many mediation pavilions on the island, looking out to Yue Bay, resting her elbow against her knee and her back against the post. Sokka came up and leaned on the railing in silence deciding what to say, but before he could start, Lin spoke up.

“Look I know you guys downplaying it for Su, but you don’t have to do that with me, I know what’s going on.” She said, still staring out onto the water.

“What?” Sokka said, caught off guard.  
  
“We’re not just here because mom’s gonna be working late for a few weeks, this is about the Yakone case, cause he’s a blood bender.”

 _Okay,_ Sokka noted, so _this is definitely not about school._ He looked at the girl again, pausing for a moment before responding. “Your mom has a dangerous job… you know that. She will be working late because of Yakone which means she’d be leaving you two alone a lot and she doesn’t want to do that.”Sokka hated lying to the kids and he always tried to be as honest as possible, even if he couldn’t say the whole truth. Lin wasn’t convinced.

“Then why couldn’t you and Suki just stay with us at the house?” She asked, turning to meet Sokka’s gaze.

Sokka cringed internally. In reality it wasn’t her mother’s absence that was the issue, but the apartment itself. Yakone’s gang had been stalking and attacking police officers every week for about a month, each time a higher rank than the last. Noticing the pattern, Toph asked Katara and Aang to take Lin and Su in case Yakone’s goons were stupid enough to come and attack _her._ Toph wasn’t as worried about her own safety, she was perfectly capable of protecting herself and her girls, but these criminals were no joke and if Toph was forced to _permanently_ take out whoever attacked, she rather her daughters not be in the next room. 

“Suki’s on Kyoshi and I’ll be gone as much as your mother, I don’t know if you’ve realized but I’m kinda a big deal around here.” Sokka responded, hoping to lighten the conversation, it was to no avail.

“It’s because she knows Katara could protect us from him right?” Lin said, looking back out at the ocean, “because she can do what he can. She can blood bend.”

“How did you-”

“You guys aren’t as good at whispering as you think. I heard you, Katara, Aang and mom talk about it a while ago.”

 _Well,_ Sokka thought, _shit._ This was one of only a handful of secrets the group had kept from the world _and_ their children. When parts of their lives first started showing up in tohistory books, they all met up and decided which of their memories they would keep to themselves. Some on this list became stories just for their children, like the underground dance party, and others, like Katara’s blood bending, did not. Sokka knew his sister was planning on telling her children at _some point_ , and he was certain she would not be happy with the timeline being moved up.

“Okay…” Sokka said, collecting his thoughts, “first of all, I’m sorry you had to hear about that.”

“I’m not a little kid anymore,” Lin huffed.

“I know, that doesn’t make it shitty,” Sokka responded, hoping that swearing so freely would back up his ‘I-don’t-see-you-as-a-little-kid’ claim. “Second, please don’t tell the anyone else about this, especially not the cloud babies. It’s something complicated and not yours to tell,” Sokka said sternly, which surprised Lin as he was not one to speak so seriously to any of the kids. Feeling satisfied with the stern nod Lin gave, Sokka continued more gently. “Lin, that is not at all why your mom sent you to Katara. You’re here just like any other time, she wants you to be around people who love you while she has a job to do.”

“You don’t have to explain the situation to me,” Lin huffed, sitting up more, “I’m the one that has to share a room with Su.”  
  
“Doesn’t Su sleep in Bumi’s old room now?”

“She’s _supposed_ to,” Lin responded, rolling her eyes. “But every night she winds up coming to my room. She always gets all upset without mom.”

“Do you miss her too?”  
  
“No.” Lin said quickly, “she has a job to do like you said."  
  
“You know she’s gonna stop by whenever she can”

“So what? We’re still here and she’s still gone.” Lin spat, slumped back against the railing, pulling her knee closer to her chest, averting his gaze.

Sokka blinked. For fraction of a moment he was thirteen again, holding his teary eyed sister and trying to rationalize being left alone. This time, he knew better. He could help with this.

“How much do you know about before Katara and I found Aang?” He asked, breaking the silence. All of the gang’s kids grew up knowing the stories of their parents’ pasts. They all knew the good and the bad (aside from The List). The gang explained as things as they came up, answering hard questions with age appropriate responses and elaborating on complicated matters as they got older. Their kids knew about Kya’s death and Zuko’s journey and the genocide of Air Nomads, but the years Sokka and Katara spent alone didn’t come up much, and when it did, the two chose to focus on funny anecdotes and legends as opposed to the pain.

“Well… I know that when you were little your mom died and that’s who Kya’s named after and I know your dad fought in the war,” Lin described, seeming rather confused by the question.

“Our dad left when Katara was eleven and I was thirteen,” Sokka started, “I really wanted to go with him and prove myself. I understood why he left. He had a job to do and so did I, but I still missed him a whole lot. I didn’t see him for almost three years.”

“That’s a long time,” Lin stated frankly, Sokka wanted to laugh but it came out as a heavy sigh instead.  
  
“It is. After we were reunited again Katara was really angry at first. She was so upset that he couldn’t be there for us, that the pressure to take care of everyone was placed on our-well mostly her-shoulders.” Sokka paused and took a breath, looking back out onto the bay.

“But I wasn’t mad at my dad at the time. It wasn’t until a few years later, when we all went back to the South to visit him and he had to leave in the middle of the vacation. I completely lost it. I realized I had all this anger bubbling up inside me that I had been pushing deep down. It wasn’t until I let myself get angry and talk things out that I was finally able to feel better.” Sokka turned to look at Lin,“I think that letting it out might help you feel better too.”

For a moment, Sokka thought that he had misjudged or overstepped. But the, right before his eyes, Lin Beifong let herself fall apart, just a little.

“Why does she _have_ to do this? Risk her life? It’s not for money or food I know that, grandma and grandpa are like rich. She wouldn’t have to do _anything_ if she wanted! But instead she risks her life protecting people! She goes up against psychos for no reason!” Linyelled, her whole body shaking as she spoke. “I know its no different for Bumi and Kya and Tenzin but their dad is _literally_ the Avatar, he has an excuse! I don’t even know who my dad is! And they see their mom _every day_ , Katara never has to go on missions for the hospital. It’s not… it’s not fair!”

Lin took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair and wiping the tears that had begun to streak her face before she continued.“Look, I know she has a duty to the people and that they need her… but I need her too,” pulling her knee back against her chest she added quietly, “I just wished all she had to be was my mom.”

Sokka sighed, moving closer to Lin and placing a hand on her shoulder. “I get it, believe me I do, and this is hard.”

“It sucks.” Lin exclaimed, “I hate worrying cause then I get all angry with her and then I feel so guilty about feeling angry. ”  
  
“Yeah, it does and your allowed to be upset and scared,” Sokka responded, wiping a stray tear off her cheek, “even if you also understand why.” They sat in silence for a long time before Lin spoke up again, startling Sokka.

“You’ll be with her right?”  
  
“What?”  
  
“This week, next week. You’ll see her? Like you’ll see her at the station or at the trial. You’ll be there cause your _such_ a big deal,” Lin said sarcastically, getting a laugh out of Sokka.  
  
“I’m glad you caught that, yeah I’ll see your mom, why?” Sokka asked. Lin sank even further into her knees, not meeting his eyes.  
  
“It’s stupid, really stupid. She’s the strongest person ever and she’d kill me if she heard me say this but… could you make sure she’s okay when you’re with her? Sometimes if she’s working big cases she doesn’t eat or sleep and… ”  
  
“Lin, look at me. You don’t have to worry about that kind of thing okay? Your mother is one of the toughest people I know and she’s an adult who knows how to take care of herself and make sure she’s at the top of her game. She also has a lot of people in her life to remind her of that.” Sokka responded, cutting his niece off before adding softly “but if it will make you feel better I’ll stop by your house a few times next week.”

“Thanks Uncle,” Lin said before hopping off the railing, much lighter than when he found her.

“Anytime kiddo,” Sokka said ruffling Lin’s hair to her dismay. They started to walk back, in a comfortable silence before Lin spoke up.  
  
“… I’m sorry you got left alone,” She said earnestly.

“Hey,” Sokka said putting a hand on Lin’s shoulder, “don’t apologize for that, none of it is yours to carry bagermole.”

“Bagermole? I’m fourteen,” Lin said, wrinkling her nose at the nickname.  
  
“Hmm… Last I checked fourteen year-old bagermoles are still bagermoles,” Sokka paused. “But I’m serious, I told you because I thought it would help you, not to weigh on you.” Lin nodded, putting her hand over Sokka’s on her shoulder and squeezing it.

“Want to head back inside? I think Blue Jay and Z-man got a letter from Prince earlier today from his latest adventure, something about taming a giant koi fish,” Sokka asked. Lin giggled at the “codenames" she hadn’t heard in a long time as they began to walk up to the house.

“Only Bumi,” she said rolling her eyes and smiling, “yeah, I’m ready.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi okay it's been a minute! So sorry that it took so long, in all honesty I have had a crazy September between gearing up for college things and living through fire season (I wrote part of this at a hotel when we evacuated, all is good now, just quite smoky) made it hard for me to set aside time. Anywho, I hope you enjoyed it, I'm almost done with the next installment so the wait won't be nearly as long :) 
> 
> Some things I wanted to mention:  
> \- I love the idea of Sokka loving codenames (Bumi's 'no one likes codenames anymore' from LOK gave me the idea), and I think he would call Bumi "Prince" since he was named after a king, much to the annoyance of those around him (Zuko or Katara: "That's not how that work!" Sokka:" Nah I'm pretty sure that's how it works, I'm a member of the White Lotus I would know, isn't that right Prince Bumi")  
> \- ALSO the Bumi getting called Prince idea is also put in shamelessly to be cute for shipping Bumi/Izumi and him calling her "Princess" :)
> 
> \- You can't tell me this group didnt see each other as much as possible, especially when their kids were growing up, I just refuse. Also at first I was worried it was OOC for Toph to go to the Fire Nation once a month (and not be at her job) but then I realized this found family is like the most important thing to her sooooo 
> 
> \- Let me know if you'd like to see more about Katara talking about blood bending with her kids, I think its interesting but idk 
> 
> thank you so much for reading :)


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